Flood-like situation in parts of Rajasthan, says official

"Of the total 13 gates, 11 were opened last night to discharge water. Seven gates were closed in the morning and four are still open," said Vinod Kumar Malhotra, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Sumerpur town in Pali district.

Rescue work is carried out after a jeep was swept away by the flood from the Chittoda bridge in Kherwada area of Udaipur district on Monday. (Source: PTI)

Heavy rainfall and water released from the Jawai Dam have flooded parts of Jalore and neighbouring areas in Rajasthan, officials said Saturday. More than 70,000 cusec of water were released from the dam – the largest in western Rajasthan – Friday evening.

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Heavy downpour also affected normal life in the adjoining Pali and Sirohi districts, where many villages are on high alert and relief and rescue operations are carrying on. Three gates of the dam were opened on Thursday and eight more were opened last night, after the level of water rose above 60 feet.

“Of the total 13 gates, 11 were opened last night to discharge water. Seven gates were closed in the morning and four are still open,” said Vinod Kumar Malhotra, sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Sumerpur town in Pali district. The water level in the dam was 59 feet at present.

“Many villages in Jalore are flooded, and some roads have been washed away. Relief work is underway,” L N Soni, the Collector of Jalore, said. Soni said the district administrations in Pali and Jalore had alerted villagers before the gates were opened.

“People in several hundred villages in Pali, Sirohi and Jalore had been affected by the flood-like situation,” the district collector said. In many villages, people were being rescued from their rooftops by the Army, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), he added.

“Rescue operations are being carried out,” Hemant Gera, Secretary of state Disaster Management and Relief department said. Various parts of Rajasthan have been experiencing heavy rainfall.

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Chittoragarh recorded a maximum of 129 millimetres till this morning, followed by Rawatbhata, which received 104.9 mm of rain, followed by Mount Abu, which recorded 101 mm of rain. Bhilwara, Ajmer, Dabok, Kota and Bundi received 65.2, 54.6, 49, 21 and 20 mm of rain respectively, while many other areas recorded below 20 mm rains during this period.